1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural planters and, more particularly, to a scraper for removing buildup from a planter row unit press wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A basic planter has a tractor towed array of row units, each for forming a crop row. The planting process for each row unit includes opening a furrow, depositing seed in that furrow, and closing the furrow. Frequently, there is an additional rearmost assembly on each row unit for pressing or compacting the soil about the seed, for example, with a press wheel, to insure good contact and moisture retention. When a planter is in a soft/muddy field the press wheel tends to buildup with mud causing problems with closing the trench and seed placement. Planting time is wasted if the operator needs to interrupt a planting operation and clean the wheels.
The present invention provides a simplistic yet versatile adjustable soil pressing wheel scraper for removing soil that is moist enough to adhere to the press wheel. A fixed scraper bracket where the scraper is only adjustable along one axis (farther and closer to press wheel) has been suggested. Such an arrangement only determines the proximity to the wheel tread at which the scraper removes the mud. Scrapers which may be variously positioned about the press wheel periphery have also been suggested. Locating the scraper high near the top of the press wheel results in a more widespread dispersion of the removed mud than does a location closer to the ground.
What is needed in the art is a press wheel scraper which may be optimally located and oriented for specific soil conditions.